December 14, 2011

José Luis Carranza - El reflejo de la muerte (Galería Enlace)

José Luis Carranza (óleo)

I used to work in the Ritz Carlton –Key Biscayne, in Florida, with people not only from the US but also from a number of countries in South and Central America as well as some European countries. In fact, I shared an apartment with four 'foreign' (or foreigner than I was) guys, one of them was from Korea and the other two were from Turkey. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that despite our cultural differences we were able to get along just fine. I have to admit that I had never talked to people from neither of those countries, and it was very interesting to be part of a group of individuals from such different backgrounds. It was important to be fluent in English, because the only way to communicate with men and women from countries like France, Rumania or Turkey was through a common language. Although some of them could speak Spanish at a beginner’s level, I guess being in Florida made it necessary; after all, many Hispanics reside in the sunny state.

José Luis Carranza (óleo)

I learned to keep an open mind about people that I would have normally considered as “different”. When I first found out that I was going to live with Turkish and Korean guys I have to admit that I was somehow preoccupied. However, after sharing my time with them I understood that we weren’t so different after all. After a few days I found out that we had things in common. For example, the Korean guy was a comic book collector just like I am. And a couple of the Turkish guys were very interested in computer games. There were differences between us, but I decided that none of those differences should cause any trouble between us. What I did was try to find what we had in common, to find something that could bring us together instead of focusing on the details that might have driven us apart.

my sketch / mi boceto

My Turkish friends used to have a cup of tea every afternoon, very much like I suppose the British do; occasionally I joined them in this activity that seemed almost like a ritual. They used to go to bed early, so I avoided making noise. My Korean friend always had a lot of questions, he was amazed by everything, it was his first visit to the United States; I knew I had to be patient, and so I was, and I answered a lot of his questions.And yet, here I am in Lima, Perú, and I'm still appalled by the level of hatred and intolerance that I see almost on a daily basis. Is it so hard for Peruvians to get along? Or is it just that I'm so naive to think that if I can make things work out between Koreans and Turkeys and Muslims then I can make things work here? Frankly, I don't know.____________________________________________________________________________________

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Arcadio

Comic books are my passion. They are as precious to me as the oxygen I breathe, and perhaps even more. The 9th art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. And through the years, this passion kept on increasing, thus turning me into an active participant. I started as a reader and later on I became a full-fledged writer and artist. Indeed I’ve found the perfect way to have twice as much pleasure when it comes to comics: I can either read them or write and draw them. And I absolutely love doing both!